It’s Fall and in Arizona that means you wear the same things you wore all summer, just with a cardigan…… It’s still pretty hot here, but I really love that feeling when you wake up in the morning and you can just sense a bit of crispness in the air. Although people from other parts of country would still consider the weather here swim season, this thin blooded girl is putting on her cardigans and sipping Zip Fizz by the pool in the mornings.

I love cardigans. I even got my husband an oldest son converted last year. They are super easy to make, small to pack for road trips, and can give an outfit a totally different look. My favorite cardigan is the Love Notions Boyfriend Cardigan. It’s super comfy and perfect for hacking. Here are a few more details.

The perfect addition to your fall wardrobe! This open front cardigan features drop shoulders, mid-thigh length, side vents and drop pockets. Choose either a shawl collar or hoodie, or you can even choose to leave off the shawl collar and hood altogether.  This comfy hoodie will look great with jeans or leggings. Choose from sweater knit, French terry, fleece or other medium to heavyweight knits. Make this in girls and ladies sizes! Purchase the girls version here. If both ladies & girls are purchased tiered pricing will automatically be applied in your cart for even greater savings!I

You might be thinking mine looks a little different from the pattern. That’s because I wanted a bit more structure to my cardigan so I changed it just a bit. In this post are two Boyfriend Cardigans I wear consistently in the colder months. I made the following simple modifications to both of them:

 Added a front collar band rather than hood or shawl collar

Added sleeve bands rather than hem

Added a wide band around bottom instead of vents and hem

Flat, square pockets instead of drop pockets

I wanted to have a matching skirt and cardigan set. I just love the look of a matching set. This is a light gray ponte knit from Fabric.com. The Sybil Illusion Skirt in the Pencil option is perfect to make this matching set. Basically the cardigan mods are just adding bands which is pretty simple and way easier than hemming. Since the fabric is folded over to make the band, your measurements need to be twice as wide as the finished measurements. So for a 2.5 inch wide band, you need a 5 inch wide piece of fabric. Make sure you cut the length so the stretch is going around your arm and body.

Here’s what I did for the gray one. I shortened the sleeves by 4 inches and then added a 2.5 inch band at the hem. For the band at the bottom I removed 4 inches from the body of the cardigan and added a 4.5 inch band. This was two pieces that met in the middle back. Once the bottom band was on I added a 2.5 inch band around the whole cardigan from hem to collar and back around. This was two pieces too with a seam in the middle back of the neck.

The measurements for the pocket were 8.5 inches tall by 7.5 inches wide. I did a 1 inch hem at the top and folded the sides and bottom in 1/4inch and sewed it on to the cardigan. I used the markings for the pattern’s drop pocket to help me decide the general area to put the new pockets. I love how it has a kind of Business Casual look to it. I get lots of compliments when I wear this simple set.

I made this Argyle Sweater knit cardigan the same way. The only difference is the sleeve length. I only cut two inches off the sleeve before adding a 2.5 inch band at the hem.

I love it! I especially love wearing this in the morning with my Sunday Romper to take the kids to school. It’s comfy, casual and perfect for our mild weather. You can check out my other Sunday Romper makes in this post. There is also a Girls Sunday Romper as well. In case you were wondering.

I hope you have some favorite Fall sewing patterns already picked out and ready to sew. Now is the perfect time for some selfish sewing and don’t you feel the least bit bad about it. Why? Because you deserve it and, because I said so😘

Happy Sewing my Friends!

Koe